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Jacob Ellsworth Daubert (1884-1924) is considered by some the best first-baseman NOT in the Hall. His fielding was never below .989, he led the NL in batting 1913 & ’14, and was MVP in ’13. Seven times from 1911-19 he was named to Baseball Magazine’s All-America team. Popular with players and fans, his union activity alienated management.

Charles Ebbetts sent him from Brooklyn to the Reds in 1919 following a salary dispute

John Wesley Donaldson (1891-1970) “was the most amazing pitcher I ever saw” said J. L. Wilkinson, who had seen them all: Cubans, Blacks, Whites and the best female players of the early 20th century. Wilkinson's All Nations team was a famed forbear of the Negro Leagues of which he was a founder. He told Satchel Paige that, had Donaldson been available to play for their Kansas City Monarchs, Paige would have been behind John in the rotation. Research has documented as many as 399 wins in Donaldson's long career in black baseball; a career that would have been quite different had he heeded John McGraw's plea to adopt a Cuban persona, renounce his family ties and come play in the major leagues. McGraw later said he'd have paid $50,000 for the left-hander but for the color barrier. But Donaldson was a man of integrity and dignity. He wouldn't stoop to denying his heritage and thus remained in the “bushes” as modern baseball unfolded without him on the mounds that he deserved. Amateur historian Peter Gorton has made Donaldson his occupation, gathering records from libraries and news files around the country. Published box scores reveal games of phenomenal strikeout performances with the highest being 31 in an 18-inning game. John was just too good for the caliber of players he was able to face.

Donaldson first pitched for clubs in Missouri before touring with the barnstorming Tennessee Rats and then the All Nations. His 30-year career ended in 1949, two years after Jackie Robinson debuted in Brooklyn

4,915 strikeouts have been documented for Donaldson. Remarkably, this total does not include the strikeouts from more than 150 games in which Donaldson pitched, but for which statistical data is lacking

Research shows that Donaldson compiled a 1.37 ERA over his 30 year career, during which he also threw 13 no hitters and one perfect game.

Bernhard Dreyfuss (1865-1932) embodied the American Dream. An immigrant Jew escaping Prussian army service, he arrived in the USA with little money and a job promise from relatives in a Kentucky distillery. He learned the language and fell in love with the national game, gradually building a stake in the local Louisville Colonels franchise. In the tumultuous lead-up to modern baseball, Dreyfuss seized the opportunity to acquire the Pittsburgh club and moved his top players to the Steel City: Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Rube Waddell, Deacon Phillippe, Tommy Leach and others. No wonder Branch Rickey said Dreyfuss was the “best judge of players” he had ever seen. With that corps of elite athletes, Dreyfuss built a powerhouse on the banks of the Allegheny and, in 1909, built the finest baseball venue in the country: Forbes Field. His Pirates beat Cobb’s Tigers in that year’s Series and Dreyfuss would gain one more title in 1925.

Many credit Dreyfuss as the genius behind the establishment of the Fall Classic